By Kosofepost Reporter
The Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) under former Senate President, David Mark, dismissing a suit challenging his emergence as the party’s national chairman.
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, Justice Musa Liman held that the suit filed by Leke Abejide lacked merit and upheld the preliminary objections raised by the ADC, Ralph Nwosu, David Mark, and Rauf Aregbesola.
The court ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to interfere in the internal affairs of the political party, describing the matter as non-justiciable. Justice Liman also held that Abejide failed to establish that any of his legal rights had been violated by the emergence of the Mark-led leadership.
The judge further noted that the lawmaker did not exhaust the ADC’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms before approaching the court.
On the substantive issues, the court ruled that the emergence of David Mark as national chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as national secretary complied with the party’s constitution, the Electoral Act, 2026, and other applicable laws.
Justice Liman held that the July 2, 2025 meeting, during which former ADC National Chairman Ralph Nwosu handed over the party’s leadership, was merely a stakeholders’ meeting that preceded the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of July 29, 2025. The court noted that the NEC meeting, which was monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), validly produced the new party leadership.
Consequently, the court declared the leadership of David Mark and Aregbesola lawful and valid.
The court also imposed costs against the plaintiff, ordering Abejide to pay ₦2 million each to all the defendants. In addition, Justice Liman ordered Abejide’s lawyer to pay ₦10 million in costs in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.
Abejide had sought to nullify the July 2, 2025 handover of the party’s leadership from Ralph Nwosu to David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola, arguing that the process violated the Electoral Act and the ADC constitution. He also asked the court to restrain Mark and Aregbesola from parading themselves as party leaders and to stop INEC from recognising them.
With Thursday’s judgment, the court has effectively affirmed the legitimacy of the David Mark-led leadership of the ADC and dismissed all the reliefs sought by the plaintiff.